A great week

Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat, where we've had a lovely and somewhat busy week. We had a "free" day this week and decided to visit Victoriana Nurseries in Challock,Nr Faversham, Kent. We've only visited once before, but when you see the entrance to the place, you just know you want to get inside! There's no mass of commercial adverts and bustling car parks to greet you, just the awe inspiring polytunnels and the somewhat quaint entrance. Once inside, drawing a deep breath of air tells you right away you're in a great place. The smell of the soil is lovely, as is the serene atmosphere within. We inquired as to whether the proprietor Stephen was available, and were delighted when he downed tools (well almost - secateurs in hand) to come and say hello. Even more delighted that he remembered us! The main purpose of visiting was to find some inspirational advice for what to plant next at the allotment, as the vacant spud beds were dying to be filled with plants. Stephen suggested a few things to try, like a Mustard "Green manure" as well as a couple of other ideas, but already I was thinking "more crops" for this season! On the way in we had passed some rather bedraggled squash / courgette / melon plants which were already lodged in the back of my mind. I mentioned these to Stephen, and he replied "take what you want, they're going in the bin later!". I couldn't believe my luck. Maybe they won't amount to much, but as fellow growers will tell you - it's heartbreaking to throw plants away. Victoriana Nursery recently took part in the BBC Gardeners World Live Show where they picked up a RHS Silver Medal - well done to all, especially to Stephen's daughter Milly (aged 3) who also picked up a Silver - the youngest ever recipient. Well done Milly!
Having bought our goodies from the nursery, we headed back to the car. This pic shows the driveway back to the main road. It really is a lovely place, we just felt like we wanted to stay, pull on some gloves and do a spot of weeding. It is definitely worth a visit if you can spare the time. It seems that family run businesses like this are a thing of the past, but Victoriana Nurseries is definitely a thing of the future, and we wish Stephen and his family all the best.


Having left the nursery, we set off to find a place to eat our picnic. After driving around for ten minutes, we stumbled across the beautiful vista literally just off the main road. Not wanting to impose too much, we pulled the car in off the road and parked up. The picnic was yummy - thanks Jen! I couldn't resist a few pictures after our lunch - this really is the Garden of England - we love it. We could live there!!! Where's that lottery ticket?


Next day we were straight up to the plot to plant up our haul. The bed pictured was previously home to our First Early spuds which produced a reasonably good crop. The ground has since been re dug, and 2 bags of spent hops added to improve the soil structure. The plants from Victoriana Nurseries were planted approx 3' apart, over a mound of grass clipping and some general purpose compost.(We used Wickes - 2 bags for £6.00). The plants were well watered in, and now we can sit back and wait. As I said to Stephen, they've got 2 chances! We also bought a pack of Marrow seeds to sow, as we are so pleased with our current marrow plants, we want to try some more. It's a small gamble, but if the weather holds out, we may get more crops?

That's about it for now, except to wish you all the best with your plots and gardens.

Hopefully you will pop back soon to check on our progress.

Take care all,

TTFN